The Importance of Friendship
by Kristen3
Summary: Set after "Girl Meets Truth." Riley's gesture of friendship to Maya leads to Cory and Topanga realizing how much friendship means to them, especially one friend in particular. One-shot.


**Author's Note: **This idea came to me after seeing "Girl Meets Truth." I started writing it, not knowing where it would end up. I know I left things a bit open here, but we are going to see Shawn on GMW, so I figured this would be a good lead-in to that. Please enjoy and don't forget to review!

Riley looked around the dinner table. She was glad to see her entire family gathered there. Even her dad. To her relief, her mom had wisely chosen not to serve chicken again. In addition to her parents and Auggie, Maya was also here.

The two girls glanced at each other and smiled. Riley was glad her friend had given back the locket. She knew that finding the locket's rightful owner was a sign that the universe did indeed pay attention to Maya. Her dad was always talking about the world, and how Riley was now old enough to explore it. There was still a lot in life that she didn't fully understand. She was only twelve, after all. But she felt that she was beginning to make sense of some of it.

"So, what did you two girls do today?" Riley's mom asked.

Riley shrugged. "Not that much. We hung out in my room, and listened to some music."

"Yeah, and they were talking about _boys_!" Auggie piped up.

"Were you spying on your sister again?" Topanga asked her son.

Auggie nodded. "Only 'cause Dad said to."

"Cory!" Topanga exclaimed.

"You're going to take the word of a five-year-old? He still thinks there are monsters in his closet!" Cory replied.

"All right, this has gone far enough," Topanga said. "Auggie, give your sister some privacy from now on, no matter what Daddy tells you, OK?"

"OK," Auggie replied, sighing a bit.

"And that goes for you, too," Topanga said to her husband. "Riley and Maya deserve to have a bit of freedom. I think we can trust them."

The two girls smiled proudly, sitting a bit straighter all of a sudden. "Thanks, Mom," Riley said.

"Yeah, thanks, Mrs. Matthews."

"Don't mention it. I remember being twelve years old myself once." Topanga glanced at Cory. It had been around that age that the two of them began to fall in love, though neither knew it at the time.

"Can I give Maya her present now?" Riley asked, turning to her father.

Cory nodded. "I think that's an excellent idea."

Maya looked at her friend, dumbfounded. But before she could ask a question, Riley got up and dashed off to her room. A moment later, she was back, and there was a small wrapped box in her hand. "Here," she said, handing it to Maya.

"What is this?" Maya asked.

"Just open it," Riley replied. "I know your dad doesn't always give you presents like he should, so I wanted to get you something to make up for it."

"You didn't have to do this," Maya protested.

"I know," Riley said. "But I wanted to. 'Cause you're my friend."

For once in her life, Maya was really touched. Sometimes, she couldn't understand why Riley would bother being friends with her in the first place. But maybe it was like Riley and her dad said, maybe it was the universe's way of taking care of her. With a shrug, she opened the box. When she saw what was inside, she could hardly believe her eyes. It was a locket, not unlike the one she'd given back. "Riley, what is this?"

Riley smiled. "Open the locket."

Maya was too shocked by this whole thing to react at first. "Go ahead, Maya. It's what's on the inside that counts," Cory said.

Still unsure that this was real, Maya did as she was instructed. There, inside the locket, was a picture of her and Riley. It had been taken last summer. They had their arms around each other, smiling. "Thanks," Maya said. "This is really nice." Maya stood and hugged her friend.

"We know you don't always feel like anybody cares about you, Maya. But you _do_ have a family. Right here," Topanga said.

Cory nodded. "Yup. We may not be perfect, but we're here for you."

Maya was speechless. What had she ever done to deserve this?

Riley sensed that her friend was overwhelmed. "Can we be excused?"

Topanga nodded, and the girls took off toward Riley's room.

"Can I go, too?" Auggie asked.

"Yes, but only if you promise to leave your sister alone." Topanga gave him a look, one which made it clear she meant business.

"OK." Auggie nodded, then got up and went off to his room.

When the kids were gone, Topanga turned to her husband. "I think what you're doing with Maya is wonderful. Mr. Feeny would be proud."

Cory smiled, slightly embarrassed. "I look at her, and all I see is Shawn, you know? I just think I have to help her the way my parents helped Shawn."

Topanga smiled. She knew that was probably the reason her husband was doing so much to help Maya out. For a moment, she was flooded with memories. Her, Shawn and Cory. It was always the three of them together. No matter what grade, they all sat in the same row of Mr. Feeny's class together. Shawn had been their biggest cheerleader when Cory and Topanga became a couple. Now he was busy, a photojournalist traveling all over the place. "You miss him." It wasn't a question. Topanga simply knew Cory well enough to understand how he felt.

Cory nodded sadly. "He was part of our trio."

Topanga took his hand, squeezing it gently. "He's not dead, Cory. Call him."

"He's so busy," Cory said, shaking his head.

Topanga rolled her eyes. "Do you want this to be Riley in twenty years, sad and lonely because she misses her best friend?"

"Of course not," Cory answered. He would do anything to protect his daughter from any sort of pain, especially the kind that came from boys.

"Then call him. If he's busy, leave a message. I'm sure Shawn will call you back."

Cory looked at her. What she said actually made sense. "Maybe I could do that."

"I'm sure you could. You know Mr. Feeny would tell you the same thing."

"Thanks, Topanga." Cory kissed her. He'd spent literally his whole life chasing after this one girl, and there was no doubt now that she was his true love.

"You're welcome." Topanga smiled as she watched her husband get up and grab the portable phone. He took it into their bedroom to make his phone call. Topanga had to admit, it had been way too long since they'd seen Shawn. Friendship was definitely an important part of just about anybody's life. It was a lesson both she and Cory had done their best to teach their children. But maybe it wouldn't hurt for them to see an example of it firsthand. Topanga knew there could never be a better demonstration of friendship than the one she'd been watching for most of her life: the friendship between Cory Matthews and Shawn Hunter.

**The End**


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